Tuesday Night Lights

Thursday

Dec 13, 2012 at 9:31 AM

Some evenings have a theme. Tuesday was "lights".

My daughter got her license last week and drove herself to school and work for the first time on Tuesday. We’d just discovered a headlight was out on the car. Since she had the car, we hadn’t had a chance to replace the headlight. I realized that she’d be driving home from work at night by herself for the first time. All of this is pretty scary for a parent, and I’d be happier if she were doing it with both headlights.

It was dark when I biked to the auto store to buy a replacement bulb. “Those are so bright,” said another customer as I wheeled up with all my flashing lights. “I’ve never seen lights like that. So many colors.”

I love the attention the Monkey Lights get. On summer nights, I hear people on their porches “ooh” and “aah” as I bike down the street.

I got the replacement bulb and biked to my daughter’s work place. I moved the car under a street light and attempted to change the bulb. After I’d been at it for 40 minutes, her shift was over. I had gotten the old bulb out and the new bulb in but it wasn’t seated properly. I shrugged and she drove home.

I still needed to pick up a few things for supper. While I was locking up my bike at the grocery store, a friend saw me and said, “Where did you get those lights? I saw you from across the parking lot.” I treated him to all the details about every light on my bike. The colorful Monkey Lights are the most flamboyant, but I’m also proud of my Reelights (magnet-powered) and the headlamp (generator hub).

The next day we took the car to the mechanic to get the headlight fixed.